Training Log Archive: PrueD

Oh where, where have I been? To sum up:
- Thursday - work, Mum's shopping. No time.
- Friday - work, back to Benalla. No time.
- Sat - Benalla gardening, domestics. Time but it was then too hot.
- Sun - up to the Starthbogies - but far toooo hot hot hot to do anything.
- Mon- still in Benalla and still far too hot.

I haven't been able to sleep properly, for whatever reason, for about 4 nights - waking up in the middle of the night etc. This has impacted on my motivation to train in the day (because I wanted to go to sleep then!). I've done a bit of gardening so at least my house looks lived in.

Anyway, I got going again today and went for a swim in the Benalla indoor pool which was nice and cool. I was feeling a bit pedestrian so addded a litlle kick to the end of my stroke which, surprisingly, made me go a bit faster (much to the annoyance of the man swimming freestyle in the next lane). Lower limbs still problematic but I used the pool for a good supported stretch after the swim.

Silva DUO at Ballarat. I had to get up at 5.00am to make the 9.00am start time. It drizzled and was foggy travelling to the event and during the event (which meant foggy glasses). I wore ankle braces to try and stablise my unstable ankles, which seem to be a key contributor to my lower leg problems at the moment, and all was good for the first leg of this event. There was a little bit of navigational opportunity in the first run and, despite running with considerable caution, was reasonably placed at the end.

Silva DUO at Ballarat leg 2. Hot and puffy and after a slow transition, I headed out (glasses still foggy). There was a little bit of navigational opportunity but not very much. Not a particularly exciting course. Thanks to Blake for mowing tracks in the grass.

Silva Duo at Ballarat leg 3 (after an even slower transition). This was another run but with no navigational challenge. As a result all the adventure racers and triathletes passed me. My lower leg started to twinge a little after a couple of controls and so I took it very very easy, walking up anything uphill and losing a place in my category on the way. But all fun in the end. I was 4th out of 6 in the senior women's short course - 3 mins from 2nd place (Louise). I had a good day. Thanks to the good looking tanned triathlete who passed me in the finish chute and who said - 'gee you're going well' (I hope he wasn't leaving off - 'for your age' or worse).

Of note - a bluetongue lizard that sat right beside the 1st control in the run. And I almost stood on a rabbit that was huddled up in the grass hoping not to be seen.

Main observation - navigationally these courses were easy - I suspect to attract newcomers to the sport. However the entry fee for non-VOA members ($57) was rather steep and off-putting. A colleague from Ballarat who does MTB racing was keen to come and try MTBO - but not for that price.

Street-O at Camelot something in Glen Waverley. Not wanting to push my chances of further injury, I just walked - but was obviously tired (after the dewy duo) and made 3 mistakes on the first 2 controls. TIm set the course and all controls had an ustrayan theme. I am now indulging in a very large pizza.

C • well deserved 1

45 minutes of yoga after work (any stretching is better than none) before going to the tennis to see the Nadal-Cilic and Clijsters-Makarova matches. It was windy and cold and we were entertained by Nadal's wardrobe adjustment antics. He should be sponsored by Bonds.

C • antics? 2

A warm humid day and I walked around Blackburn in the evening, Unfortunately my knees are playing up - but I've had this problem before and am fairly sure it is 'runner's knee' - so will do the appropriate exercises and see what happens.

I noticed that many houses close to Blackburn lake and in tall timbered areas haven't cleared the leaves from their gutters etc and have their gardens covered in leaf litter. One new house being built that backs onto the lake sanctuary has been designed with many of the features that minimise the risk of the house surviving in a fire - steep roof, attic windows etc - lots of nooks and crannies in which sparks can get caught. Given the new building regulations for house construction in fire prone areas, I can only surmise that this area has not been designated as fire prone, which is surprising as it is very fire prone.

Saturday morning orienteering training run at Balwyn (near Maranoa Gardens). I shuffled my way around the course (half run /half walk) - without too much discomfort. I don't usually like novelty events but this one was fun - a card game of 'pig'. Each person was given 4 cards and, as they passed each other orienteer, had to swap a card each time, with the aim of getting 4 of the one type (e.g. 4 Queens). The controls were marked as little snouts on the map and all the map instructions were written in 'pig-theme' with a substantial collection of pig jokes. Quite entertaining. The organiser (Geoff)'s little brain must have been running overtime! I didn't see many others, but the new scenery, map and cards kept my mind off my injuries.

Observation for the week - How odd it is that I have really enjoyed going to and being at work this week. I think it is something to do with not having to be there. I only did 36 hours this week, but the flexible hours and project work really suit me.

C • obligations 2

MTBO summer series event on the 'Templestowe Hillclimb' map and organised by MFR. Carolyn reminded us at the start that it was 'very hilly'. It was mainly a street/bike path event with a bit of bushland near the start/finish area at Mullum Mullum Reserve. As is becoming increasingly the case, I really enjoyed this event and felt good all the way (my injuries do not seem to be affected by bike riding). I had to walk up some of the really steep hills - but so did lots of others. I got a reasonable score and was placed about 1/3 of the way through the field - which was good for me. I'm finding that careful route planning on these events pays off and in this case I learnt from the event 2 weeks ago (where I was back early) and left a couple of controls, near the finish, for last.

Street-O at Boronia tonight, a somewhat maligned suburb which doesn't deserve its reputation. I walked and felt fine but twisted my (other) knee at the end - so I hope I'm not in for a spate of injuries. Injured calf is OK walking. I also attended the BBQ afterwards but discovered that it was an ARDF meeting and that there was a danger that, if I hung around too long or drew attention to myself, I would end up being allocated some jobs.

Another enjoyable day in the office. I felt a bit embarrassed when several people came up to apologise for not attending my farewell. Ah never mind, I said, there will be another one in about 10 years time.

Leg is still a bit sore (possibly a bit bruised from the massaging too) but I am working on the knots. I walked around Blackburn creeklands tonight, after shopping for Mum (who now has 5 times more food in the house than me). The orange breasted parrots (real name unknown) were everywhere and I walked past a family of 10 adult ducks. A very nice evening.

Much to the relief of my closest friends and relatives (who feared dependency), I went back to DSE to work today - but as a contactor rather than an employee. The main benefit of this was that I could buy a book of 10 tickets to the departmental yoga class for $50 - excellent value! My new employer K stated that, had she known that it was just the yoga that I wanted, then she would have just bought the book of tickets and not bothered about the job - much cheaper! My body was extremely grateful for the yoga session - as I am very seized up and have missed the stretching terribly. My injury didn't bother me at all there, though hurt walking.

I got my friend Peter (a qualified masseur) to inflict some pain on my calf yesterday. He did not disappoint, rubbing out the knots to the best of his ability whilst trying to ignore the sound effects (he would have been happier wearing earmuffs). I wouldn't say that it was better, but at least I am attending to the injury with massage and stretching. I will probably still see a physio when I get time and I will avoid running for a while.

A jog/walk around Reef Hills this morning. It started as a slow jog but unfortunately, after 3.3 kms and while going up a hill, my calf problem returned - and I might need to seek some professional advice about this. The problem is a knot/tightness on the outside of my leg between the sites of my latest sprained ankle and a much earlier torn anterior cruciat ligament. Oh the woes of battle injuries. The rest of the time was spent walking along smaller walking tracks trying to avoid the golden orb spiders. The freshly washed bush was lovely.

C • look after yourself 2

I should have done something but it was still very humid (with a thick fog in the morning). I cleaned the cars and mowed the lawn. The lake has risen so that it covers the boardwalks - however it is a long way off flooding here.

This was the very wet day. I went to Alexandra in the Mitre 10 delivery truck (but was of little assistance as I had no intention of getting out in the rain). The amount of rain was incredible, but not as much as was received in the west of the state.

Oh so warm and humid today - with intermittent downpours. My air conditioner has a de-humidifier which meant that I was comfortable for as long as I was inside. Oddly the windows misted up on the OUTSIDE.

I am no good in humidity but ventured out on the Aldi Special, which is hard going at the best of times but seemed more so today - perhaps something to do with the 0 and 4 lbs of pressure in the front and rear tyers respectively - and which I did not discover until half way around the lake. A visit to the servo and then, my, what a difference air makes, even on THAT bike. The rest of the ride was most enjoyable although I had to stop for a few conversations (the occupational hazard of country living). One was with a running friend who has an injured back that was caused by carrying too much wine out of Safeway when it was on special.

C • too much wine 1

A swim in the Benalla outdoor pool in the rain. I was the only patron in this pool and felt slightly sorry for the pool attendant who had to stand in the rain and watch me - but not sorry enough to revert to the very humid conditions in the indoor pool.

Walk around the Benalla lake this morning in very humid conditions. It was raining for the last part.

I didn't really get enough exercise at last night's MTBO but don't want to run for a few days - so headed off for a walk around Blackburn Lake before driving back to Benalla. Observation of the day - it seems to take me a whole day to pack and drive between Melb and Benalla (and visa versa). That is nearly 2 wasted days a week!

MBTO summer series event at Lysterfield Lake. The cool change had arrived by the time we arrived but there were still thousands of tourists frequenting the carpark on our arrival - though not too many out on the track. I learnt something regarding route choice from a previous event held here last year and headed out clockwise (around the lake) this time. My route choice was good, except that I made a decision to head back to the finish a little early and to not visit a nearby control - this meant that I was 8 minutes early and 20 points down.

My greatest observation regarding this event was the single track 'etiquette' - which resembled playing a game of 'chicken' ie - 'me or you, me or you (when eyeballing approaching cyclists), me or....OK then ..... me'. I must have got off 20 times to allow for passing cyclists. The question to be asked - why always ME? I think there should be extra points allocated to those cyclists who spent a large proportion of their time giving way on single track. It is really hard to get going again, especially on the uphill, on a single track.

Afterwards we had sausages and cheese toasties before heading off to a nearby cafe for more refreshments. Despite my lack of riding skill (and practice), I am starting to enjoy these MTBO events.

(Apologies for multiple entries on Friday [now deleted]. I forgot to take my laptop power lead to Melbourne and have been offline for most of the week - and therefore had to go to an internet cafe for Wed/Thurs entries(where nothing seemed to save). After various failed attempts to find a replacement lead at Officeworks and in Bruce P's backyard shed (almost as good as O'works), I resolved to spent the remainder of the week cyber-free.

C • downhill gives way 2

Oh, forgot to say that someone (no-one that I know) had a bad spill at MTBO and (I think) sustained a shoulder injury. I passed the woman walking out with the paramedics so she can't have been too bad. When I returned to the finish there were no less than 3 ambulances in attendance. In addition to these, we had our first aider and also 2 paramedics competing!

BOTH feet are now hurting (the tops, near the outside ankles), even walking along. This is an injury I have neve had before and wondered whether I strained them somehow on the weekend. Anyway, I stretched them a bit and walked around Blackburn Lake and environs this morning.

I have been off-line for a few days because I forgot to bring my computer power lead to Melbourne and have a flat battery. I tried to get a lead and adaptor at Officeworks, but was unsuccessful, so finally conceded that I wasn't going to get much done these few days.

I had to go back into town to get some more work this morning (but neither today's or yesterday's jobs can be started yet) but avoided Myers.

Injury appears to be coming from my ankle. This ankle has been badly sprained a number of times and is now seized up. A bit of stretching seemed to help and I really think that yoga would be beneficial. However I haven't found a yoga class anywhere near where I am and I am not sufficently motivated to do-it-myself at home from the yoga book I got for Christmas.

I went into town today to collect some work. I was due at 11.00 but Mum rang me at 07:00 to make sure I was out of bed and going to work. I think she is worried that I am not going to get started again.

Ex-colleague suggested I go and look at the Myer refurbishment. That was one big expensive mistake!

I had entered the A course at street-O (hays paddock, Kew East) tonight because it was a novelty score event and I wanted to run for an hour. But that was short lived - between the first and second controls something went *tug* in the side of my right calf. It was like a knot and I couldn't clear it - any attempt to run from thereon was met with intense pain, so I gave up and walked (painful as well, but less so). The event was interesting, with the novelty format comprising 3 unmarked controls. I chose a good route where I managed to strike a few of these. Shame about the leg.

I started working today. Office and desk are in order, house clean, garden tidy and I have a new monitor and keyboard. Old emails and computer files are archived. It took a bit to get started but once I got going, all was fine - and I enjoyed the peace and quiet that working from home brings. I also decided to indulge in the ultimate 'work-from-home' luxury - heading off to the pool for a swim in the sun amongst holiday-makers mid afternoon. Very pleasant.

C • A start! 3

A run around the normal circuit at Reef Hills. The weather a perfect 22 degrees and breezy. I struggled a bit today, both on the ups and downs, then returned home for a breakfast of big juicy blueberries which I picked last night from a blueberry farm in Lima South.

Swim in the Benalla pool. Another warm day and I spent the rest of it spring cleaning (scrubbing floors on all fourrs) . Friends have suggested that there is nothing left to clean and that I am cleaning things that are already clean. But not so - still a few things to go. I am looking forward to a new year with everything in order.

I went to Beechworth for the day. Parked at Lake Sambell, then ran down the bike track, around the Gorge drive (in reverse direction - road closed due to water damage - and therefore no cars/dust), walked up most of the steep hill back to town (approximately 2km) and then around the streets of Beechworth. 28 degrees when I started and 34 when I returned - feeling very hot. This was followed by a picnic at Woolshed Falls and a trip up Mt Pilot. A lovely day - I really enjoy that granite country.